Cat Flap

by Ian Jarvis

  ‘Thanks,’ croaked Rex, a mental picture forming of Fran feeding on a torn corpse, her furry cat body plastered in crimson slime. ‘Yeah, thanks a lot.’

  Chapter 61

  Watson watched, horrified, as Zucco jammed the Uzi silencer through the bars of the next cell. He blasted the inmate and the stench of putrefaction filled the cellar.

  ‘Sorry about the smell,’ mocked the doctor. ‘We no longer need our guinea pigs.’

  Whenever Zucco looked at him, Watson got the distinct impression he wasn’t seeing a cool, black youth, but a mouse. ‘It stank pretty bad in here before you started shooting,’ he muttered. ‘Maybe your litter tray’s full.’

  ‘Shut it!’ snarled Zucco. ‘Two hostages are quite sufficient and I have an excellent cure for negro insolence. An agonising remedy I discovered in the old days with my slaves.’

  ‘Leave him alone.’ Larry turned hesitantly to the teenager. ‘Look, I know how you must be feeling and I’m sorry, but it had to be this way.’

  ‘Thanks for the concern.’ Watson flopped against the rear of the cell in a miserable heap. ‘And bollocks!’

  ‘So what’s the story?’ said Quist. ‘I thought we were friends.’

  ‘We are friends, Bernie.’ Larry averted his eyes, his expression the sort of thing seen on dogs that have chewed slippers. ‘If there’d been any other option...’ He ran a weary hand through his hair. ‘I had to tell them about you. They wanted me to kill Silva, but I knew I couldn’t.’

  ‘The manager of Brightshield Glazing was no problem for you. He was younger than their President too.’

  ‘Silva is powerful and he has a fortress with guards. His whole environment is set up to thwart assassinations. I know my limitations, Bernie. I’m too old and slow for that. You’re the only one I know who’s capable. I hate this hostage business, but it had to be this way. I knew you wouldn’t help them willingly.’

  ‘But why are you helping them?’

  ‘We have a deal.’ Larry took a deep breath. ‘Strand will soon be the new President and I have refuge within his society.’

  ‘What?’ Quist’s face fell. ‘Are you mad?’

  ‘I told you the other night that I was tired of it all. I’m not like you; I never have been. I don’t fit in with this modern world. I’ll be better off with the Ubasteri.’

  ‘I fit. In the past, you’ve managed too. You can’t give in now. You told me the urges had passed.’

  ‘I lied. You’ve always been better at it; younger and more adaptable.’ Larry shook his head sadly. ‘No, I’ve made up my mind.’

  ‘But you can’t join Strand. You’ve tried before. The yoga, the vegan diet and...’

  ‘And they all failed. Oh, they worked for a while, but the urges always returned. I knew how you felt, so I told you I didn’t need to bother with special diets due to my age. That’s why I made the regular trips to Scotland.’

  ‘For the deer. Yes, I suspected.’

  ‘Not just deer. There are plenty of junkies in Glasgow and Edinburgh.’

  ‘Oh, Larry.’

  Doctor Zucco laughed. ‘Why do you care about junkies? They’re just...’

  ‘Because I’m human,’ shouted Quist. ‘That’s why I care.’

  ‘But that’s the thing,’ said Larry, quietly. ‘You’re not, are you, Bernie?’

  ‘Yes I am. Inside I always will be.’

  Larry closed his eyes. ‘Please try to understand, I’ve had enough of the secrecy and upheavals every time we disappear. With Strand it’ll be different. In his society I can kill whenever I feel like it.’

  Quist lashed the bars. ‘You don’t have to kill people.’

  ‘Yes I do,’ said Larry quietly. ‘We were meant to kill.’

  ‘No! You can...’

  ‘Bury my instincts like you? I’ve tried and it doesn’t work for me. Don’t you see, Bernie? We’re not the same. I want to kill people.’

  ‘Er, I wonder if I could butt in?’ questioned a voice behind Quist.

  The detective turned to Watson.

  ‘Thanks. Now would you please tell me just what the fuck you’re talking about?’

  Zucco leered, his green eyes twinkling. ‘He doesn’t know, does he?’

  ‘Guv?’ The youth climbed warily to his feet. ‘What does he mean?’

  Red lights flashed on the desk control panel. Zucco leapt to the CCTV switches and brought up the lobby reception on the monitor screen. Houghton the head of hospital security was speaking to a large visitor.

  ‘Damn!’ hissed Zucco. ‘Why is Galeen here?’

  ‘What’s happening?’ demanded Larry. ‘Why did your man press the silent alarm?’

  ‘Galeen is in charge of Silva’s bodyguards. Let’s turn up the volume and hear what they’re saying.’

  He didn’t get chance. The pair froze as Galeen drew a silenced gun and fired twice into Houghton’s heart.

  ‘Silva knows!’ Zucco snatched the Uzi and headed for the stairs. ‘He must know something. Come on.’

  ‘What about Bernie?’ Larry turned anxiously to the cell. ‘We can’t leave these two here.’

  ‘Never mind them. We have to get rid of Galeen and warn Strand.’

  ‘But if anything happens to us, these two will be...’

  ‘Move yourself,’ rasped Zucco. ‘We don’t have time for this. You made a choice and you’re with us now.’

  Larry hesitated, then followed, pausing briefly to give the cell inmates an apprehensive look from the top of the steps.

  Quist darted to the front of the cage as the cellar door closed. ‘Move!’ He pushed his assistant aside and grabbed the bars.

  ‘I don’t believe it.’ Watson’s eyes widened as Quist pulled. ‘For a moment, it looked like they were moving.’

  ‘They were.’ Quist stepped back panting. ‘But I don’t have the strength to break them.’

  ‘Er, right.’ This didn’t exactly stun Watson.

  ‘Okay, there’s no other way.’ Smiling uneasily, Quist slipped off his coat and dropped his wristwatch and signet ring into a pocket. ‘I’m going to get us out, but I should warn you, you won’t like this.’

  ‘Shit!’ The youth gaped at the CCTV screen on the desk, oblivious to the acute drop in temperature. ‘There’s another big bloke arrived in the lobby with a machine gun.’

  The sound of tearing cloth behind Watson accompanied the horrific crackle of twisting bones. The teenager turned to find that Quist had vanished. The gigantic black wolf that stood in his place shrugged apologetically and gave a guilty, lopsided grin.

  Chapter 62

  Larry hurried behind Zucco, following him to the security door that separated the doctor’s private quarters from the hospital. ‘You must know how your President’s bodyguards operate,’ he said. Tugging off his jacket, he glanced back towards the cellar. What the hell was he thinking of, leaving Bernie and Watson down there? ‘Do you suppose Galeen’s alone?’

  ‘I doubt it.’ Zucco checked his gun and listened with his ear to the metal door. ‘Silva will have sent at least two. This will be risky, but his security are pretty dumb and we have the advantage of surprise.’

  The room grew icy as Larry’s face extended noisily into a bushy lupine muzzle, the teeth falling from his mouth and turning to dust, forced out by sprouting yellow fangs. He grew in height, shoulders widening and shirt bursting, to reveal an expanding torso of tatty white fur. The pale creature looked ancient. It wasn’t often that a wolf appeared to need a Zimmer frame, and if Larry had been in a zoo, the RSPCA would have sadly insisted he be put to sleep.

  ‘Okay.’ Zucco pressed his ear to the door again, his breath clouding on the air. ‘Are you ready?’

  The monster nodded, red eyes glinting.

  ‘Right, we rush out together and take Ga
leen off-guard. I shoot him and you pounce on any other Elite who may be there.’

  The wolf looked again at the cellar.

  ‘Forget your friends,’ snarled Zucco. ‘Get your mind on this.’ He tapped in the code, raising his pistol as the door slid open. ‘Ready?’

  As plans went, this could have been better. The doctor realised it the moment silenced gunfire tore through his side to liquefy his heart and blow the scarlet mess out through his armpit. A silver bullet smashed Larry’s shoulder. Shrieking, he hit the emergency door-close button and leapt back behind the falling corpse. Whoever shot Zucco had been waiting to the right of the door and Larry had glimpsed a second gunman near the reception desk. White-hot silver pain fried the wounded arm, sizzling in agonising ripples across his shaggy back.

  This was insanity. How could he possibly have left Bernie and Watson trapped in the basement? He had to get them out of that cage right now.

  Turning back to the cellar, Larry stiffened to see the large figure at the hall window and the gun levelled on his face. Silva had sent three guards.

  ‘I’m so sorry, Bernie,’ he whispered.

  The window shattered and silver smashed into his skull to replace the remorse.

  ***

  ‘Will you come down,’ begged Quist, impatiently. ‘I won’t hurt you.’

  ‘Fuck off!’ Watson clung to the bars in a shaking ball at ceiling height.

  ‘I look unusual, but it’s still me. Come on, we don’t have much time.’

  The teenager gaped at the huge black monster below. The wolves he’d seen in the past, on TV and in zoos, reminded him of big husky dogs, but this thing wasn’t like that at all. This vicious-looking bastard should have been wearing a nightcap and sitting in the bed of Little Red Riding Hood’s granny. If Quist’s nose had seemed large before, it was enormous now, his face resembling a furry alligator. Pointed ears sprouted either side and smouldering amber eyes gazed up at Watson.

  ‘We have to get out,’ said Quist. ‘Zucco or those gunmen could appear at any moment.’

  ‘What’s happened?’ whined Watson. Something was moving behind Quist and he realised it was a tail. ‘What the fuckin’ hell have you done?’

  ‘I’ve turned myself into a wolf.’

  ‘Oh... my... God!’

  The youth lost his grip and fell. Hairy paws caught him and gently set him down, where he backed away jerkily, glued his spine to the wall and stared up. He had to stare up; Quist had grown six inches.

  ‘I knew how you’d react,’ said the wolf, ‘but it was the only way.’ Paws crackled as taloned fingers sprouted. ‘In this form, I have greater strength. Larry couldn’t move these bars, but I’m younger and stronger.’ He grabbed the metal and heaved.

  ‘Yeah,’ droned Watson in monotone. ‘Younger and stronger.’

  Quist strained, forming an opening at waist height. ‘Come on,’ he grunted, squeezing through. ‘And don’t forget my coat. I’m naked, so I’ll need it when I change back.’

  Watson gawped as if in a dream.

  ‘Pick up the coat and get out here - now.’

  Slowly lifting the leather overcoat, Watson slipped a leg through the gap.

  ‘You have to snap out of this.’ Quist grabbed his arm to help, saw the petrified reaction and let go. ‘I don’t want to slap your face; in this form I’d take your head off.’ He wagged his tail and grinned to show it was a joke. The glowing yellow eyes and razor fangs didn’t help.

  ‘You’re a werewolf!’ whispered Watson.

  ‘There’s just no fooling you today.’

  ‘You’re a genuine, real-life fuckin’ werewolf!’ He gulped; unwise and painful when the mouth feels desiccated. ‘That’s why Strand wanted you? They picked you to kill their President because you’re a werewolf?’

  ‘Yes, but we have to get out. That door at the end of the cellar looks like it leads into the grounds. Where are my car keys?’

  ‘I’ve been working for a werewolf?’ Watson poked gingerly at his furry chest and snatched his hand away. ‘That’s what you were talking about with Larry? He’s a werewolf too? That’s what Amy saw in the fog–the glowing eyes and fangs. It wasn’t a panther. It was Larry.’

  ‘The keys? Where are they?’

  ‘Incredible!’ Watson stared for several seconds and shook his head. ‘Yeah, whatever. After people turning into fuckin’ cats, I don’t know why this shit should surprise me one bit. Your so-called mate took the car keys when he brought us in.’

  ‘Damn!’ Quist turned to the CCTV screen on the desk and flicked through the camera controls with a clawed finger. ‘We’d better see what’s happening upstairs before we run for it. Those visitors could be anywhere and they looked pretty dangerous.’

  ‘You should take a look at yourself.’ Trembling, Watson tore his eyes from the creature to watch the changing screens. Rooms and corridors appeared and disappeared. ‘Why do you think they shot the guy on reception?’

  ‘I presume this Silva character has found out about the takeover bid and intends to stamp it out. Zucco said the first caller was head of Silva’s security.’ Galeen appeared onscreen in the lounge. ‘Ah, there he is. I imagine the second one is a bodyguard too. And look, there’s a third outside.’ Quist found the lobby camera and gestured to a decomposing puddle. ‘Mmmh! Speaking of Zucco...’

  ‘Yeah, I recognise the suit.’ Watson turned away queasily and spotted Amy’s mobile and the small pile of items where Rex had emptied his pockets on the desk. ‘Hey, talk about luck!’ Grabbing the phone, he jingled the Ferrari keys under the wolf’s snout.

  ‘Excellent!’ growled Quist. ‘If we leave by this cellar door...’ Larry appeared onscreen, his naked corpse lying in the hall. ‘Oh...’

  ‘Ah!’ Watson saw the hole in the old man’s head. ‘Is he dead?’

  ‘Was that some attempt at a joke?’

  ‘Hey, it’s only been two minutes since I found out that werewolves actually exist. I don’t know anything about them or what kills them.’

  ‘Silver. According to Strand, the security squad use silver bullets in their...’

  Not only did Quist possess increased strength in his lupine form, but every sense was augmented. He heard the door handle turning at the top of the cellar staircase, snatched a silenced pistol from the desk and fired. Seeing a giant wolf on two legs was the bodyguard’s first surprise. A silver bullet in the heart was the second. He rolled down the steps, his Uzi clattering at Watson’s feet.

  ‘Pick it up,’ said Quist.

  ‘Fuck! You killed him, Guv.’

  ‘Well spotted. Take his gun.’

  ‘I don’t want anything to do with machine guns. I don’t intend...’

  The wolf bared its teeth. ‘Pick it up!’

  Watson picked it up.

  ‘And grab my coat. We need to move fast before anyone else comes.’ Frisking the dead bodyguard, Quist found three UZI magazines. He glanced at the CCTV screen before following the youth to the door by the cellar hatch. ‘Goodbye, Larry,’ he mumbled.

  ‘I’ve tried it,’ said Watson, his spinning mind still attempting to come to terms with the furry monster. ‘It’s locked.’

  ‘Take these and I’ll try.’ Handing him the spare ammunition, the huge wolf rammed its talons into the jamb and tore the door from its frame.

  ‘Ah! Watson nodded. ‘It looks like you have a knack.’

  Quist snatched the UZI, checked the silencer and safety catch, then bounded up the steps into the blizzard. He crouched low, eyes darting around the snowy gardens. The driveway gates had been left open by the hit squad, and beckoning Watson, he moved cautiously towards the corner of the hospital. The youth scurried out, sheltered behind Quist’s shaggy back and followed through the trees, gulping uncomfortably to see the bizarre paw-marks in the snow and the furry tes
ticles beneath the creature’s tail. The wolf halted abruptly, dragged him behind a large tree, and lifted its snout to sniff. Watson had seen dogs act this way when they picked up a scent.

  ‘Keep still,’ growled the wolf. ‘I can smell a cat around this corner.’

  Springing into the tree branches, Quist climbed onto a horizontal bough that extended beyond the hospital frontage, moving silently along until the patrolling bodyguard came into view. Not the most intelligent individuals, Silva’s security expected targets to be at ground level, and even when the scent of blood told him to look up, Quist had time to fire and leap down beside the Ferrari before the dead creature hit the snow.

  ‘Nice shot,’ whispered Watson, running from the bushes.

  ‘Get behind the wheel,’ hissed Quist.

  ‘What about me having no driving license?’

  ‘Get in and don’t be sarcastic.’

  Watson threw Quist’s coat into the footwell, gunned the engine, and watched fearfully as the monster clambered awkwardly in, its furry bulk filling the car.

  ‘Why are we waiting?’ The wolf squeezed its head under the low roof. ‘The engine will have alerted the gunman in the house. Hanging about is a bad idea.’

  Kicking open the front door, Galeen raced out levelling a pistol.

  ‘Now would be a good time,’ pointed out Quist.

  Whimpering, Watson stamped the accelerator, covering the bodyguard in snow and gravel as the Ferrari screeched away.

  Chapter 63

  Doctor Atwill brought the van to a halt at the front of the SSS building on Salford Quays. Rex grunted as Strand dragged him out with a grip that rivalled a bench vice.

  ‘Here we are,’ said Strand. ‘Silver Security Systems.’

  The other offices in this deserted business park had closed for the evening. Rex waited until his captor turned to the huge warehouse, before glancing along the snow-covered street. The brightly-lit modern waterfront they’d just driven through, with its busy theatres and restaurants, lay just around the corner.